Meditation: A Short Scene

Morning. A room with a comfortable couch. THE BODY sits in quarter-lotus position on the couch, eyes closed, breathing slowly.

[THE BODY is present. THE BODY is. THE BODY requires no effort in order to be. THE BODY effortlessly is.]

[Enter THE MIND.]

THE MIND: Hey hey! What’s goin’ on over here? What are we doing? Oh cool, we’re meditating! I know how to do that!

[THE MIND sits down on the couch next to THE BODY. THE BODY just is.]

THE MIND: So yeah so we just sit here and, like, just be, right? We just be present. That’s easy! A little too easy, even. I should probably make some noises and talk to you don’t get bored- Crap! I’m meant to be quiet. Sorry about that! Really sorry. God I’m such a klutz. Can’t even keep quiet for a minute.

[THE BODY does not respond. THE BODY is always already fully present, regardless of what THE MIND is doing.]

THE MIND: Not one minute. Not even one minute. Unbelievable, really. How we can’t shut up for even one minute. It’s a real problem. We should really do something about that problem, you and I. I bet if we think about it real hard we could find a solution.

[THE BODY does not move. THE BODY’s energy is fully present, fully felt, here and now, still and silent, without needing to do anything.]

THE MIND: Yep just meditating! Meditating real good. Just like we’re supposed to be doing.

[Pause]

THE MIND: My breath sounds funny. Does my breath usually sound like that? Is that normal? Am I sick? Oh God, I’m totally sick with the coronavirus aren’t I? It finally happened! Good thing I’m meditating, I can make my peace with death now. Oop! No that’s not my breath, that’s just the heater. Phew!

[THE BODY remains still. THE BODY just is. THE BODY’s beingness is totally independent of the activities of THE MIND. THE MIND’s babbling is irrelevant to the situation.]

THE MIND [singing]: Evil is a relay sport when the one who’s burnt turns to pass the torch! Evil is a relay sport when the one who’s burnt turns to pass the torch! Evil is a relay sport when the one who’s burnt turns to pass the torch! [Speaking] God, I can’t get that song out of my head! Fiona Apple, man. What a goddamn masterpiece that new album is. Hey remember that New Yorker article about her? God what a tortured genius that woman is. Isn’t it a trip how she had all those failed relationships with men, and now she’s in like a platonic relationship with that lesbian lady? Hell, most women have probably thought about doing that, to be honest. It wouldn’t even be that much different from a lot of normal lesbian relationships anyway, what with lesbian bed death and all. Oh! Is that really a thing? I wonder if that’s a real thing, or just some homophobic urban legend I heard about decades ago in some conversation and believed ever since? That happens sometimes. Maybe lesbians in long-term relationships have as much sex as other long-term couples do? That’s interesting. We should google that immediately. Actually DuckDuckGo, cuz Google is evil.

[THE BODY does not move.]

THE MIND: Come on, this is really important! Let’s go search for “lesbian bed death” right this instant to make sure we’re not an evil homophobic monster! Evil! Evil, evil, evil is a relay sport when the one who’s burnt turns to pass the torch! Evil is a relay sport when the one who’s burnt turns to pass the torch!

[THE BODY does not move. THE BODY’s simple energetic beingness is fully felt. THE BODY is always present, never absent. Absence is only ever happening for THE MIND.]

THE MIND: Really? Nothing?

[Pause]

THE MIND: This is dumb.

[Long pause]

THE MIND: Okay.

[Long pause]

THE MIND: Okay.

[Pause]

THE MIND: Well, I’ll be in the other room if you need me.

[Exit THE MIND. THE BODY does not move. THE BODY simply is. THE BODY is still. THE MIND is silent. All is well. All is.]

CURTAIN

https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/meditation-a-short-scene-f725821fc011

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